Terps Football Hires New Offensive Coordinator
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The Maryland football program has added to its coaching staff in preparation for the upcoming 2026 College Football season, set for late August. Head coach Mike Locksley has brought in Arkansas quarterbacks coach Clint Trickett as the new offensive coordinator for the Terps.
IMS EXCLUSIVE: Maryland football is hiring Arkansas’ Clint Trickett as new offensive coordinator 👇https://t.co/h9MMmG1w3C
— Inside Maryland Sports (@Terrapins247) February 17, 2026
The 34-year-old new offensive coordinator is a young coach who has been coming along among the collegiate ranks, gaining new opportunities in the coaching scene, and now gains another big opportunity, pairing him with a young rising QB star, Malik Washington. The sudden change comes as a surprise, especially since Trickett was just brought back to Arkansas in December.
Locksley had brought in veteran experience in his offensive and defensive coordinators last season. Pep Hamilton helmed the offense, and Ted Monachino called the defensive plays.
Hamilton saw some bright spots in his offense last season, particularly in its development and the stellar play of the offensive line. The rushing attack weighed heavily on the passing game, which ranked 124th in the country with 104.33 rushing yards per game
Hamilton will now reportedly shift to a senior advisor role for Locksley.
Trickett played collegiate ball at Florida State (2011-2012) & West Virginia (2013-2014) as a quarterback. With the Seminoles, Trickett served as the backup to future NFL first-round pick EJ Manuel in his two seasons.
As a Mountaineer, Trickett gained the opportunity to start seven games in his first season, tossing seven touchdowns. Trickett was then named a starter for his senior season, throwing for 3,285 yards, 18 passing touchdowns on a career-high 67.1 completion percentage.
Trickett began his coaching career at East Mississippi Community College as a quarterbacks coach. His next opportunity came at Florida Atlantic University, where he was the tight ends coach and oversaw the development of Harrison Bryant.
In year one under Trickett, Bryant gained Second Team All-Conference USA honors. The following season in 2018, Bryant's stats rose to 45 catches for 662 yards and four touchdowns, earning him First Team All-C-USA honors and PFF Second Team All-American recognition. Bryant's last season was his best yet, as he was named a John Mackey Award recipient (first non-FBS winner), posting 65 receptions for 1,004 yards and seven touchdowns. He became the third C-USA tight end ever to gain over 1,000 yards, as well as the third Owl all-time.
In his final season at Florida Atlantic in 2020, he became co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Trickett departed FAU for Marshall after the 2020 season, where he served as the pass game coordinator/wide receivers coach in 2021 before becoming the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2022. Running backs Khalan Laborn and Rasheen Ali were top-notch runners under Trickett's offense, where they led the Thundering Herd offense that was second in the Sun Belt in rushing at 205.9 yards per game.
After two seasons at Marshall, Trickett spent the 2024 season at Georgia Southern as the pass game coordinator and also coached the tight ends and inside receivers.
Last season, Trickett was the offensive coordinator at Jacksonville State. Trickett continued his trend of helming a top-notch run game that averaged 246.7 rushing yards per game — fifth-most nationally — averaging 5.3 yards per carry. Running back Cam Cook led the nation with 259 carries, rushing for 1,659 yards, and led the Conference USA with 16 scores.
Trickett will look to improve the overall structure of the Maryland offense, which struggled with consistency. The Terps struggled in contests where their offense had moments of moving the ball up and down the field to gain leads, but stagnated later in the game. Maryland averaged 23.5 points per game, ranking 95th nationally and 13th in the Big Ten. I expect the running game to have a heavy influence on the shift in philosophy for the Terps under Trickett's offense, utilizing the expanded room and even Washington's dual ability to make plays with his feet.
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Jaden's sports journalism career began at the College of Southern Maryland from 2022-2023, where he was brought in to cover baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, and volleyball at CSM. In late 2023, he began interning at the University of Maryland Athletics Department as a contributing writer to help develop feature stories and game recaps. He also creates his own sports media content on professional Washington teams with LegacyMaker Sports Network.